Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Trading 1% Higher – Still a Buy?

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) shares shot up 1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $311.21 and last traded at $308.8580. Approximately 3,149,749 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 27% from the average session volume of 4,324,503 shares. The stock had previously closed at $305.69.

More Home Depot News

Here are the key news stories impacting Home Depot this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Home Depot continues to benefit from momentum among professional customers, digital sales and faster fulfillment. These trends could help offset softer consumer traffic and support longer-term growth. Home Depot Drops 12.4% in a Month: Time to Buy or Stay Cautious?
• Positive Sentiment: The retailer is adding convenience and engagement features to its shopping experience, including a perk modeled after Costco’s approach. The initiative may improve customer retention and store visits, although its financial impact is not yet clear. Home Depot Tries to Copy Major Costco Perk
• Positive Sentiment: Home Depot remains highlighted as a company with a durable record of dividend increases, which may appeal to income-oriented investors during the housing slowdown. 5 Stocks That Keep Raising Their Dividend Regardless of the Market
• Neutral Sentiment: Chief Accounting Officer Kimberly Scardino sold 675 shares for approximately $206,516, reducing her holdings by 7.62% but retaining 8,189 shares. The transaction is relatively small and may have limited investment significance. SEC Insider Trading Filing
• Neutral Sentiment: A quantitative signal has emerged for contrarian options traders, potentially reflecting expectations that HD’s recent weakness is overdone; it does not change the company’s underlying fundamentals. A Rare Quant Signal Just Flashed for Contrarian Options Traders in Home Depot Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts continue to flag weaker store traffic: recent growth has come from larger baskets and fewer transactions, increasing concern that shoppers may keep visiting less frequently as housing activity remains subdued. What Happens to Home Depot Stock If Shoppers Keep Visiting Less?
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group Bank modestly lowered its FY2028 earnings estimate to $16.02 per share from $16.05, while Bernstein issued a pessimistic forecast for HD. The cautious analyst tone may weigh on sentiment despite Home Depot’s latest earnings beat. Sanford C. Bernstein Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Home Depot Stock

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HD shares. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Home Depot from $385.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen raised Home Depot from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on shares of Home Depot from $348.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $354.00 to $344.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, HSBC decreased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $392.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Home Depot presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $375.18.

Home Depot Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.64, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $335.14 and its 200 day moving average is $333.90. The firm has a market cap of $308.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.95.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 18th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.73 by $0.19. Home Depot had a net margin of 8.41% and a return on equity of 106.42%. The business had revenue of $47.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Home Depot has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.690-15.278 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $2.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $9.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is presently 65.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael F. Rowe sold 710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $336.76, for a total value of $239,099.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,838 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,764.88. The trade was a 9.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Kimberly R. Scardino sold 675 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.95, for a total transaction of $206,516.25. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,189 shares in the company, valued at $2,505,424.55. This trade represents a 7.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 9,829 shares of company stock worth $3,339,314 over the last three months. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Home Depot

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HD. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Home Depot by 34,873.9% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 525,674,125 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $185,394,750,000 after purchasing an additional 524,171,077 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot in the second quarter worth $28,771,247,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot in the second quarter worth $5,780,468,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at $4,850,329,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Home Depot during the second quarter valued at $2,777,396,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Company Profile

The Home Depot, Inc is a home improvement retailer that sells building materials, appliances, decor, hardware, tools, paint, lawn and garden products, and related merchandise. The company serves do-it-yourself customers, professional contractors, homebuilders, and other commercial customers through its retail stores and digital platforms.

Home Depot also provides services such as equipment and tool rental, delivery, installation, and project support. Its professional-focused offerings include job-lot quantities, specialized products, credit services, and account support designed for contractors and other trade customers.

Founded in 1978 by Bernie Marcus, Arthur Blank, Ken Langone, and Pat Farrah, the company is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.